David Schnurr

Team Heading

As a nationally recognized business and technology lawyer, David Schnurr combines his qualifications as a Registered Patent and Trademark Agent with his extensive experience in corporate commercial and technology law to provide a full range of pragmatic and cost-effective intellectual property (IP), information technology (IT), business transactional (including cross-border transactions), contractual agreement and day-to-day commercial advice and solutions. David’s experience extends to cutting-edge technologies like AI, making him a go-to advisor for startups and established businesses alike. David is not only focused on delivering top-notch legal services but also excels in client care. With his exceptional skills in contract drafting and research, he ensures deadlines are met and provides strategic advice tailored to each client’s goals. His dedication to simplifying complex matters and proactively addressing issues has earned him high praise from clients and peers, solidifying his position as an experienced and trusted legal partner. Given the breadth of David’s experience, he provides general counsel services to many of his clients, including high-level advisory and strategic planning services on corporate and related matters, investments and acquisitions.

David is recognized as a go-to lawyer on legal matters requiring sophisticated and strategic attention. David is a voracious reader with a keen legal mind. He is adept at finding support for his arguments, even in apparently weak cases. David’s enthusiasm and willingness to jump into complex matters consistently impresses his clients and colleagues and he is repeatedly recommended as a go-to source for managing sophisticated IT and business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, complex patent and trademark prosecutions and contentious client matters involving a serious threat of litigation.

Notably, David has prosecuted hundreds of patent and trademark applications around the world and manages significant IP portfolios for several of the firm’s global clients. In addition, David is a nationally recognized leader in the area of technology contracting, including in respect of the preparation and negotiation of license and end user agreements including EULAs and EUSAs, hosting agreements, software as a service (SaaS) and other cloud services agreements, master services agreements (MSAs), IT consulting services agreements and statements of work (SOWs), software application development agreements, joint venture agreements, maintenance and support agreements, consulting and professional services agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), privacy policies and data processing agreements, and distribution agreements, including OEM and reseller agreements.

In his Information Technology (IT) practice, David has acted as the lead negotiator on a substantial number of significant multi-million dollar IT outsourcing and strategic sourcing projects, including for large multi-national corporations and government bodies. He has brokered complex IT transactions, serving as the main client point of contact and overseeing the responsibilities of client in-house legal counsel, contract specialists and business stakeholders. In this role, he has directly negotiated complicated and contentious IT matters and has positioned himself as one of Canada’s leading legal professionals in computer & IT law. David is the author of the Cloud Computing chapter in LexisNexis’ legal textbook, Social Media and Internet Law, which is now in its second edition.

David’s Intellectual Property (IP) practice includes the provision of legal services in respect of patents, trademarks, copyright, and industrial designs, including the preparation, filing, prosecution, registration and maintenance of such applications before the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and internationally, the preparation of patentability and trademark registrability opinions, intellectual property due diligence in corporate transactions, Trademarks Opposition Board and cancellation proceedings, domain name disputes and the enforcement of intellectual property rights generally. David also provides advice on legal matters relating to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and regulatory issues in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

David is one of Canada’s leading startup and emerging technology lawyers and is a key member of Miller Thomson’s National MTech® Startup Team. As a regional MTech leader, David leads teams of lawyers in providing high-quality legal advice and mentoring to startups and early-stage businesses using attractive and predictable billing models. In addition, David leads Miller Thomson’s ElevateIP and Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON) service teams.

As a leading Canadian IP/IT lawyer, David has assisted a significant number of clients in defending software audit requests and copyright infringement demands advanced by BSA (The Software Alliance), and large software companies. In this role, David has established proven and effective methods for managing client disputes with the BSA, with a view to mitigating both legal and financial consequences for his clients.

In past years, David has been ranked as one of Canada’s Leading Lawyers in The Canadian Lexpert Legal Directory (Repeatedly recommended – Intellectual Property).David is consistently ranked as one of Canada’s leading trademark practitioners by the prestigious World Trademark Review (WTR 1000). In this regard, David is praised as: [a] “delight to work with – his enthusiasm for trademarks is incomparable”; his varied client list “has benefited from shrewd portfolio management and assurance in opposition”; “an extremely thorough, diligent and knowledgeable attorney”; “[a] key difference between him and many other IP practitioners is the personal attention he gives to clients. He always makes himself available when needed and provides fantastic service, taking the time to thoroughly explain all imperative details with clarity and patience and proactively bringing up potential issues before they become a problem. The level of dedication he shows is rare – he really goes above and beyond at every turn. What’s more, he’s always transparent about his actions and the costs incurred”; “synonymous with excellent client service”; “instrumental in simplifying processes and putting things into layman’s terms to assist clients in protecting the aspects of their products that (are) important”; “prompt, clear and helpful…[b]eing able to rely on someone so knowledgeable has been crucial. He goes out of his way to explain his recommendations” and presents “different options based on [clients’] needs”; “refreshing [to work with] – he understands his clients and how to best support global businesses”; driven by a strong desire to add value to brands by providing affordable services and counsel that is easily actionable; and a lawyer who “devises savvy prosecution strategies to achieve watertight brand protection for his clients”. David is pleased to be ranked once again as one of Canada’s leading trademark professionals in the 2024 edition of WTR 1000 where he has once again attained a Silver Band ranking, conferred upon only a select few trademark practitioners across Canada.

David is a Registered Canadian Patent Agent and U.S. Patent Agent, having passed the Patent Agent Examinations on his first attempt. In a given year, less than 5% of test-takers achieve passing grades on all four Patent Agent Examinations, placing David in elite company. David is also a Registered Canadian Trademark Agent and U.S. Trademark Agent.David provides legal services to a broad range of clients across Ontario and Canada, including multinational corporations, universities, startup businesses and entrepreneurs, research hospitals, small business owners, charities, and international IP counsel, among others. As an associate, David was seconded to assist the in-house legal department of a multinational technology company headquartered in Canada with its IP/IT matters.David has presented on various legal topics to in-house counsel, foreign agents and attorneys, universities, startups, professional associations and other Ontario lawyers, including at seminars organized by the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) and the Law Society of Ontario. David has also been interviewed on IP/IT matters by Postmedia and CBC News, including for nationally distributed news articles, radio and television programs, including CBC’s The National.Since 2009, David has served as an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at Western University, where he teaches the Advanced Intellectual Property course and is a five-time recipient of the Faculty’s Teaching Award of Excellence.David completed his law degree at Western University, where he was the recipient of the Dean of Law Entrance Scholarship and obtained highest standing in Advanced Patent Law. In his undergraduate career, David was the recipient of two Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Awards.David is a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC).

Beyond his impressive credentials, David’s commitment to education, public speaking engagements, and his standout publications underscore his passion for sharing knowledge and helping others navigate the dynamic world of business, intellectual property and technology law. David has presented on various legal topics to in-house counsel, foreign agents and attorneys, universities, startups, professional associations and other Ontario lawyers, including at seminars organized by the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) and the Law Society of Ontario. Since 2009, David has served as an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at Western University, where he teaches the Advanced Intellectual Property course and is a five-time recipient of the Faculty’s Teaching Award of Excellence.